


Substitute

by livvy_x



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Love, Post-Break Up, Teacher Betty Cooper, Teacher Jughead Jones, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-03-01 01:02:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13283613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livvy_x/pseuds/livvy_x
Summary: Betty returns to Riverdale to be a substitute teacher at Southside High. It ends up that she is supposed to fill in for Mr. Jughead Jones, the boy that she once loved so much. What happens when they see each other for the first time after six whole years?





	Substitute

Betty was back in Riverdale as the sole owner of the Register and as a new substitute english teacher at Southside High. She had gone away at college for six years, getting her Masters in both, journalism and english. It had been a long six years away from Riverdale, and yes, she was happy to be home, but she was also nervous because she hadn’t seen or talked to anyone of her friends in so long.

It was Betty’s first day on the job. She was assigned to fill in for a teacher named Mr. Jones for only half a period at the end of the day because he had a teacher’s meeting. The name ‘Jones’ made her chest tighten, but she had a feeling that it wasn’t the Jones she could be thinking of, right? If it was, she didn’t know if she’d be overjoyed, upset, or scared… she’d definitely feel something extreme.

With her heels clicking down the rusty, vandalized halls of Southside High, Betty followed the room numbers to 116. When she heard a voice booming through the hallway, her whole body tensed. It was Jughead Jones, as she feared, and of course, she had to sub for him… the long, lost love of her life. It had been so long though since she left, despite her emotions, and she hoped that he’d at least be happy to see her, so she cleared her throat, held her head high, and walked to the class.

“Okay, guys, a new substitute should be on their way to take over for me right now. I have no clue who they are yet, so just bare with whoever it is,” Jughead said. “Do you all understand the assignment?” They nodded.

Betty stopped in the doorframe, there he was. The boy—well, man she used to know so well had matured like no other. Jughead looked tall and lean; he looked confident. He didn’t have his signature crown-beanie on anymore; instead, his dark curls hung perfectly around his forehead. _He always had nice hair, _she thought. He wore teacher-appropriate clothing, but behind the front desk, Betty took notice to his sherpa jacket resting on the chair, the same one he always wore.__

____

____

With a coffee mug in his hand, Jughead headed for the classroom phone. “I’ll have to call down to the office to see where this sub is. Why don’t you guys get to work?”

Betty sucked in a breath, making herself looked calm and collected. “Mr. Jughead Jones,” she called out in a voice that was amused and lighthearted, rather than the way she was feeling. She couldn’t let him know the way her hands were shaking or the way she was nervously sweating.

_That voice _. Jughead dropped his coffee mug right then and there. The glass shattered and the black liquid spread over the concrete floor. The class (and Betty) saw his shoulders tighten up. Not even acknowledging the spilled coffee, he slowly turned around meeting eyes with her. Jughead didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know what to do. He was completely frozen. The girl of his dreams, the girl who left him… the love of his fucking life was right in front of him. He had expected her to come back one day, but not here in his classroom.__

____

____

“Fuck,” he muttered, looking down. Jughead was not ready for this. “What the fuck?” Jughead anxiously whispered to himself once more. Realizing he was cursing in front of his students, he looked up at them with appalled eyes. “Sorry,” he said quietly. They all could see he was flushed.

Betty frowned lightly. “I’m the substitute, Jug,” she said lowly, walking forward, highly aware of all the students eyes on her and their teacher.

Jughead shook his head and reached for the phone anyway. He pressed an extension line and put the phone to his ear, his eyes never leaving hers. Betty arched an eyebrow, having no clue what he was doing. “I, uh— I can’t make the meeting,” he mumbled into the phone and hung up before the person on the other line had the chance to respond.

“What’s up with Mr. Jones?” A student whispered, along with many other whispers.

“He’s never missed a meeting,” someone muttered. “Why’d he do that?”

“Do you think this is the girl he dedicated his book to?” Yes. “Remember what it said? _‘To her. To the girl who gave my life a purpose. To my one true love.’ _What a sap.”__

____

____

“I bet they were fucking,” another said. True.

Betty tried not to listen, but it was impossible. “No, I bet they were in love— still are in love… at least one of them.” Also true.

Jughead shook his head again, composing himself. “Class, um, you’re dismissed. No homework. I’ll see you all tomorrow,” he said. “Maybe,” he then added under his breath. “And uh, this is Miss Cooper—” Jughead cut himself off, turning to Betty. “Right? You’re not like married or something?”

“What? No!” Betty squealed. She was baffled that he even said that. She hadn’t been with anyone other than him ever. Jughead just nodded as she forcefully straightened herself up and waved to the class. “Why would you even think that?” She asked, not actually meaning to say it. Neither of them even noticed as the students filed out of the class and huddled around the door to eavesdrop.

Jughead actually snorted. “Uh, I don’t know? Haven’t seen you in years. Figured you found that perfect match for yourself, the perfect girl next door,” he muttered. He didn’t want to sound harsh or hurt, but it was his natural reaction to everything.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Jug?” Betty put a hand to her forehead, sounding and looking exasperated. “Well, what about you? Are you with Toni? Secretly ruling the Serpents like you two always dreamed?” Again, for Betty too, the harshness in her voice was accidental. It was just like that everything was so pent up in her that it was all coming out.

Jughead let out an angry, frustrated sound. “No, maybe if you were around you’d know Toni left the Serpents and moved out to Boston with Cheryl. They’ve been together since you left,” he snarled. “And you know I’m done with the Serpents. Why even bring that shit up?”

“And why bring up the ‘perfect girl next door’ shit?” Betty shot back, not realizing she was stepping closer. They were in such close proximity that it seemed threatening for whatever reason. They just stood there, looking at each other. She felt like she was melting under his gaze. It was as if a spot light was on him and nothing else was there. She almost couldn’t handle it. “Anyone other than Toni if she’s not in the picture?” Betty asked with a shaky, quieter voice. Jughead gulped and shook his head. “Oh,” is all she could muster up to say.

“What are you doing here, Betty?” Bughead asked, feeling his heart ache every time there eyes would meet.

“I’m a substitute teacher now, and I took over the Register,” Betty responded, willing herself to meet his eyes.

Jughead shook his head once more. “I mean, here. Why are you in the Southside?” It made no sense to him as to why she’d chose this school out of the two in Riverdale.

“It was time to come home. Nothing can ever compare to home,” Betty simply responded, not actually thinking it through too much as to why she chose this school. It wasn’t her school, it was his… and that’s when something inside of her clicked… something that she didn’t even realize that she needed to think about.

Letting out a sigh, feeling very aware of her in that moment, Jughead said, “Southside’s not your home.”

_When I think of home, I think of you. This is you, _Betty thought. She looked away, not willing to let him notice the sudden tears that have sprung into her eyes. Her breathing was uneven and she prayed to the heavens above that he didn’t notice.__

__“Even after all these years?” Jughead said. His face showed shock._ _

__Betty’s eyes widened. “I said that out loud?” Now that was embarrassing. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, but Jughead stepped closer, needing an answer. “Yes, Juggie,, even after all these years. Haven’t been happy not being home, you know? That type of thing doesn’t just go away… at least not for me,” she said._ _

__Jughead wanted to say ‘but you’re the one who left me.’ He wanted to say ‘it was your fault.’ He wanted to ask ‘why haven’t you called?’ He wanted to say ‘I missed you.’ There was so much he wanted to say, but nothing would come out. He could only stare._ _

__Jughead’s lack of response caused Betty to get very nervous. She turned towards the door. “Sorry. This is stupid. I’m supposed to be your sub, that’s all—”_ _

__As she started to walk away, Jughead grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him, clashing their lips together at full force. It was a subconscious act that came when his mind and heart made the decision that letting her walk away would be set in history the worst decision that he had ever made. They Betty squealed in surprise but then quickly grabbed onto his face to deepen it made Jughead wrap his arms around her waist, holding her body firm against his. The kiss was everything that it was before and more. It was like putting in the missing puzzle piece to fill in the emptiness of the past six years._ _

__When they separated, their hands were still holding tightly onto each other. They were breathing heavily. Shakily yet assertively, Jughead said, “Don’t fucking leave again.”_ _

__“I won’t,” Betty promised._ _

__The students in the doorway watched with heart eyes. “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” one of them squealed. “And good for her… Mr. Jones is definitely the hottest man around,” the girl giggled, and of course, other students agreed. Even through their whispering, the two adults focused solely on each other, which the students found remarkable. It was clear there was something real between them._ _

__They had a lot to work through, a lot to talk about, and a lot to catch up on. Though nothing was set in stone and it could be a while until they accept and feel comfortable with each other’s presences, it was nice to know that they still held a place in each other’s hearts. Obviously, that one kiss gave many doubts, but it also gave them a settling feeling in the stomachs. In reality, they were Jughead and Betty; they were soulmates, through and through. It was going to continue to be a rocky road and neither of them were sure if it’d even take them anywhere, but you can’t mistake true love._ _


End file.
